Archives for November 2010

2011 Writing Prep: Work on Your Ledes

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A good lede (lead) draws readers into the piece. It’s purpose is to pique interest, tell readers what the piece is about and transition them into the body of the article. It also needs to develop rather quickly. That is a lot of weight to place on a paragraph or two, which is why it’s the area writers agonize over the most.

As with most things, writing improves through practice, critique and analyzing others. This exercise incorporates all three. Rewrite the ledes you come across throughout the day. Newspaper or magazine articles, blog posts – it doesn’t matter, simply read the piece and create your own lede for it. There are a few rules:

  1. The lede must be in your own typical style or niche. It’s not helpful if you suddenly become Tom Brokaw for a newspaper lede when you usually write a funny automotive repair blog. This is about taking what you do to the next level, not mimicking someone else.
  2. You must use the facts given in the article.
  3. Don’t agonize over it. The exercise is designed to improve your writing. It won’t work if you only do one rewrite in three hours. Keep it down to 10 minutes max, then move on to the next one.
  4. Complete five pieces then rest. Take a walk, check email, whatever you need to distract from the work.
  5. Look at both ledes – the original and your re-write – and critique. Be sure to recognize what is good about each piece as well as what needs work.

There are some ledes so brilliant, they either inspire you to pick up the keyboard or make you want to throw your laptop out the window. Those ledes are a product of hard work and practice. Fun, no pressure exercises are a great way to hone your craft – here’s to magnificent ledes!

Share your favorite writing exercise.

Stop Beating Around The Bush…

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Have you ever happened upon a blog post that seemed interesting to begin with but seemed to drag on and on and on?

Sure you have!

Are you one of those people who tends to become long winded when writing?

One technique I’ve had to develop over time – with lots of practice is to write my post, edit, edit, condense, walk away, come back and edit some more. I try to get those posts down to the bare bones.

Blog readers tend to have a very short attention span and if you read a lot of blogs, you know precisely what I’m talking about.

Longer posts aren’t always better posts!

Keeping it short, sweet and to the point will please your readers more in the long run because it shows you value their time.

So tell me, which kind of writer are you? Windy or to the point?  And what is your position on long post versus short post?

Writing is Like Sex

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While you’re doing it, you’re focused, zoned in and intense. Every distraction is met with deep disappointment – the phone, the kids, the dog standing there watching you do it. When you’re not doing it it’s all you can think about leaving you distracted. “It” is writing, but the passion in which we pursue, fantasize about and devour it makes it a lot like sex. That’s another big reason why it’s fun.

The Heat.

There’s nothing like the heat of new blog post, new assignment or new magazine. The magazine represents an opportunity. The blog post or assignment represents a conquest. You’ve gotten in the door, now you want to hang a while so you make yourself useful. You caress every part of the piece lingering on the lede (foreplay), delving into and thoroughly exploring the depths of the piece’s body and bringing the whole thing to a fully satisfying conclusion. You send it off knowing you’ve done your best, you’re a bit cocky, but still attentive to the post comments or editor’s response.

The Saltines.

While writing has many of the upsides of sex, it also has many of the downsides – boredom, familiarity. Eddie Murphy had a bit during a stand-up performance about dating and sex. He basically said when you’re waiting for the right moment you’re like a person who is starving and when it finally happens it’s like giving a starving person a cracker. It’s the best cracker they’ve ever had, however after a while it’s really just the same old crackers.*

Have you been around the writing block a few times?  Are you simply going through the motions with an occasional comment response? You have discovered that wonderful opportunity is still the same old crackers – it’s still work. The danger of the rut is you could lose the relationship, so…

  • Revisit the past. Pull out your clips and re-read your work.
  • Ask for what you want. Go to your editor or your audience and ask them about their interests, what new areas are they interested in exploring.
  • Bring in another love. Open relationships are helpful in writing, it keeps things fresh. Explore other interests and bring back a fresh outlook on your main love.
  • Take a class. If you have a particular niche, learn more about it,  read an alternative point of view, try handcuffs…wait. Oops.
  • Take a break. Sometimes even the most storied relationships falter. Moving out, getting some air and seeing what the world has to offer will go a long way in helping you decide if it’s time to move on or if what you have is worth reinvesting.

Writing is a passion. It can be red-hot and all consuming. Just be mindful – passions wane; everyday life, billing and other interests can sometimes get in the way. Refocus on the fire that kept you typing through all hours of the night.

How do you keep your passion for writing alive?

*The Eddie Murphy clip was a little too raw for me to post here so if you’d like to have the link shoot me an email at [email protected] It’s funny stuff or Google it.

2011 Writing Prep: Thick Skin

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As a writer, it is perfectly normal to get shellacked on a weekly or monthly basis. Whether it’s rejection letters,  feedback from clients or mean-spirited comments on a blog or website there are plenty of days where the heart and ego will get bruised. Here’s the thing, it is the unfortunate by-product of success.

Many define a writer’s success by their annual revenue. Others measure success by a writer’s influence – both online and offline. I look at those things, but I also look at a less rosy and overlooked area of success – feedback. We’ve all felt the sting of a rejection letter and after so many, one may begin to wonder if they’ll ever make it. Sometimes the worse sting is a rejection letter after so many successful pitches. These occurrences are actually good for you, they toughen up that squishy writer heart which is important because:

This is a business.

You are creating a product to be sold for consumption. Yes, the product is a thoughtfully produced, creatively birthed and may contain the remnants of a few tears, but it is, still a product. You need to produce the product, deliver the product and bill for the product (and likely follow up on the billing). It is important to provide proper, enthusiastic customer service and be able to accept feedback because…

Feedback matters.

Feedback is usually the writer’s only way of knowing whether they are meeting the needs of their clients/readers. It is what we use to determine if we need to move in a new direction, stay the course or abandon ship and run for the hills (never that!). It is what keeps us profitable. Feedback, positive or negative, is important because you then know…

Your stuff is out there.

If your work wasn’t out there – queries to editors, blog posts, articles, book proposals – you wouldn’t get the rejection letters, negative comments or positive, helpful critiques. Do you know how many writers struggle just to make it that far? To write the query, to get someone to read the blog post to finish that hellish process known as book proposals? It’s where many a writing career dies. You made it past the blank page with the blinking, winking, taunting cursor. THAT is a victory. Someone received your words, read them and took the time to either give helpful advice or bang out some less than kind criticism, but that doesn’t dilute the fact that they read. Your. Work.

Thicker Skin = Critical Eye.

In order to become better writers we must evolve. We must challenge what we know about writing, how we write and what we write so we can continue to improve. Feedback prompts us to self-reflect. Most editors aren’t out to get you, their job is to know what works for their publication/site. They are helping you learn what their audience wants and when you deliver it, you elevate yourself to ‘go-to’ status. Developing a thick skin about comments, critiques and attacks allows for you to cast a critical eye on your work that will only make you better.

Not every piece of feedback is helpful, correct or necessary, but it is necessary for writers to develop a thick skin in order be able to determine the helpful nuggets of information from the junk.

How do you handle criticism and feedback?

Freelance Writing Jobs for November 30, 2010

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Good morning!  Here are your freelance writing jobs for today.

New Articles

Do You Care About Your Clients’ Business?

2011 Writing Prep: Editorial Calendar

Creating Your Own Freelance Writing Gigs

Freelance Writing Jobs

Copy Writing Jobs

  1. Interactive Copywriter (North Dallas)
  2. Copywriter/Proofreader for Rosetta Stone (Harrisonburg, VA)
  3. Temporary Print and Web Copywriter (Boston)
  4. Web Copywriter (Hoffman Estates, IL)
  5. Travel & Leisure Copywriter (Cambridge)
Proofreading/Editing Jobs
  1. Portuguese Proofreader (San Francisco)
  2. Script Proofreader (Boston)
  3. Copy Editor/Writer for Non-Fiction (NY/Telecommute)
  4. Web TV Editor (San Francisco/Telecommute)
Journalism Jobs

Technical Writing Jobs

Plan/Proposal/Grant Writing Jobs

  1. Business Plan Writer/Wordsmith (Mountain View)

Travel Writing Jobs

  1. Freelance Travel Writer for Trazzler (Florida)
  2. Travel Writer (Houston, TX)

Sports Writing Jobs

Resume Writing Jobs

Creating Your Own Freelance Writing Gigs

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I’m not opposed to finding work via advertisements or “help wanted” listings.  I’ve never been a fan of the bid boards, but I know they work for some people.  I know that countless writers benefit from the job listings here at FWJ.

However, I don’t spend a lot of time tossing my hat into the ring with hundreds of other applicants for advertised writing positions.  I’ll do it occasionally when a particular call for a writer really appeals to me, but it’s not my preferred way of generating business.

I know there are plenty of writers out there who would really like to be busier, so I thought I’d talk about an approach that has worked for me.  It’s not revolutionary or anything, but it doesn’t seem to get as much attention as other strategies.  I like creating my own gigs.

Here’s the plan, in its simplest form:

  • Find someone who has a great product or idea–something that’s right in your wheelhouse or in which you see remarkable potential.
  • Think about how your skills could help them.
  • Pitch them.

Example One: Occasionally, I’ll watch press releases roll along the river of a popular distribution site’s RSS feed.  I’ll look for releases that involve interesting topics or ideas.  I’ll pay close attention to those that evidence a need for a much better copywriter.  The contact information is right there on the release.  The pitch is simple in terms of offering them more effective releases and it doesn’t take long to investigate their web presence and to see what else they might need.

Example Two: Have you ever been searching for something that you wanted or needed and then discovered a real diamond in the rough of a website?  Of course, you have.  When I find these sites, I will follow up with the owners, telling them how we might be able to work together to improve their business.

I know.  It’s pretty simple.

But here’s the interesting thing…  It works.

You might think that the percentage of contacts that turn into business would be minimal.  That’s not the case.  The conversion numbers are surprisingly good.  I’m relatively sure that my contact/conversion rate in these situations is higher than most people’s success rate when responding to “writers wanted” ads.

I believe that one reason writers aren’t in higher demand is our collective shortcoming in marketing our gifts and their value.  We have a tendency to wait until people see a need for us when we should be telling them why we’re so damned valuable.  When you’re rainmaking, that’s exactly what you’re doing.

The trick, of course, is the pitch.  You need to be able to show value to the prospective client.  You need to demonstrate an understanding of what they seem to be trying to accomplish as well as a vision for what they should be trying to accomplish.  You need to make yourself accessible and to let them know that you’re friendly, helpful and something other than a moneysucking mercenary with a keyboard.

I generally make contact with an email.  I’ll follow up with a phone call.  It’s not a chore.  It’s fun.  After all, I’m not hoping to find an ad for a job that would be tolerable.  I’m isolating opportunities that interest and excite me.

Give it a shot.  Take some time to find someone who isn’t necessarily looking for you but who could really use your skills.  Pitch ’em.  See what happens.  You might be surprised.

Do You Care About Your Clients’ Business?

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How much do you care about your clients’ business? And what does caring have to do with getting hired for a freelance writing gig? Plenty.

I believe that success is based partly on having a certain amount of raw talent but it’s mostly about showing up, doing the work and developing good relationships with the people you work with. Part of having a good relationship with your clients is caring about them and their business.

You may be hired to provide a writing service, but what you are really doing is helping your client solve a problem. They may be looking to draw more traffic to their web site, increase sales by putting out a brochure that persuades a prospect to contact the company or put a human face on their company by asking you to write blog posts.

If you were the client and you had the choice between two writers of equal ability, would you hire someone who only did what they were asked to do (no more, no less) or would you give the nod to someone who took the time to ask about your business and what you are trying to accomplish?

Let’s not get so caught up in trying to be cool that we forget to care about the people we work with. They are the reason we’re in business, after all.

2011 Writing Prep: Editorial Calendar

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We are barely past the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday and here I am crashing through all the fun of the season by bringing up January. There’s no point sticking your head in the sand. The new year is coming and with it comes new responsibilities. To put a positive spin on it, it brings new opportunities to get organized and to create the cushy work environment of which you’ve always dreamed.

In my dreamland, all of my calendars – editorial, home, kid activity and husband, are perfectly synced and color coordinated. In reality, my editorial calendar clashes with the other calendars in a fight to the death, stomping over karate classes and movie nights with reckless abandon. It’s a mess. I somehow get everything done – well. But just imagine if I got them in harmony? I’d be completely unstoppable!

Evaluate.

I won’t go into the importance of having an editorial calendar, we’ve got plenty of posts on that here, here and here. Those that have one, take this time to evaluate it. What worked? What could you do better? Do you need a different style of calendar? A different system of tracking? Do you need to place it in a different position? Sometimes, depending on the amount of work you have, placing it right in your face can be overwhelming or depressing. Other times it can be a motivator. In that case, it’s not providing much motivation behind your bookcase.

How about too many calendars? Do you have one to carry, one at home, one on each floor, one on your desk and one or two online reminders? How’s that working for you? Pare down and keep organization tools simple and easy to use.

Don’t force it.

I have a great smart phone. It does all kinds of cool stuff, including keeping track of appointments and due dates. It cannot replace my pen and paper calendar. I know it is completely old school, but there is something about writing it down and mapping it out that works for me. I tried going completely electronic. I was lost and or late for a week. Find what works for you and stick with it. I know a writer who uses the Post-It method. It would drive me crazy, but hey…

Pen in days.

There are days that should be set in stone. Add them in now because if you don’t you’ll likely find every excuse not to set them – doctor’s appointments (you can’t meet a deadline if you’re dead); holidays, administrative days – days you clear up the books, straighten the files, etc. Penning in days is important because it gives you permission to have a life outside of writing.

Editorial calendars are essential tools when used effectively. Take this time to tweak yours.

Making changes to your calendar/methods? Tell us or share what works for you!

Freelance Writing Jobs for November 29, 2010

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Good morning, everyone!  It’s still slim pickings today, probably due to Thanksgiving hangover; but bear with us, please, and we’ll find more job leads in the next few days.

Have a good week ahead!

New Articles

Let’s Talk Adsense
Should You Appoint a DMCA Agent for Your Site?

Freelance Writing Jobs

Copy Writing Jobs

  1. Copywriter (Minneapolis)
  2. Copywriter (Anywhere)
  3. Marketing Copywriter for Tech Startup (Seattle/Telecommute)
Proofreading/Editing Jobs
Journalism Jobs

Technical Writing Jobs

Plan/Proposal/Grant Writing Jobs

  1. Restaurant Business Plan Writer (New York)

Travel Writing Jobs

Sports Writing Jobs

  1. Writers for National Sports Publication (Anywhere)

Resume Writing Jobs

General/Misc. Freelance Writing Jobs

  1. Ghost Writer (Glendale, CA)
  2. Book Proposal Writer (Greenwich Village)
  3. Press Release and Bio Writer (Greenwich Village)
  4. Ghost Writer for Screenplay (Anywhere)
  5. Ghost Writer for Book (Broomfield, CO)
  6. Senior Professional Writer (Austin, TX)
  7. Social Networking Editor (Online)
  8. Writer for Video Game Publisher (Petaluma)
  9. Writer for Asian/American Dramadie (LA)
  10. Writer/Editor/Researcher (Maryland)
  11. Writer – Fairy-themed Light Novels (Anywhere)
  12. Writer – Life Story (New York)
  13. Writer – APA/MLA/Chicago Style (NYC)
  14. Talented Screenwriter (New York)
  15. Web Comic Writer (Anywhere)

Magazine Writing Gigs

Let’s Talk About Adense

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Ever since I began blogging WAY back in the t days of Blogger, Adsense was and has remained one of the most common means of generating revenue for blogs and websites.

Some bloggers swear by tried and true methods that can drastically improve your click-through rate and overall earnings simply by positioning the ads optimally, by improving the targeting content or by tweaking the ad units.

Here are a seven methods you might try to optimize your own Adsense units:

1. The three top performing ad units are: 336×280 large rectangle, 300×250 inline rectangle and 160×600 wide skyscraper. Try using those units, but keep in mind that other formats could be more suitable for your personal design.
2. The most successful link color is blue. This fact goes back to the very roots of the Internet in that all major websites used to feature blue links.
3. Besides blue links you might try a link color that coordinates nicely with the design of your website (i.e. If you use red links make the Adsense links of the same color).
4. As a general rule of thumb, blend (no border, same background) your Adsense units if your blog has a light color theme and contrast (border, contrasting background) the units if you are using a dark color theme.
5. If the ads are placed within the content it’s recommended you avoid using borders while ad units outside of the content can use borders to call attention.
6. If your blog consists mainly of repeat visitors as in websites that utilize forums, you should consider rotating the background color of the units to reduce ad blindness
7. And I can’t say it enough – test, test, test! Every website, blog and visitor is unique so make sure you experiment with different colors and formats and track the results so you can fine tune your Adsense units.

What are some methods or ad servers you’ve tried that have shown the greatest result?

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